This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Conventionally, reclining articles of furniture (i.e., chairs, sofas, loveseats, and the like), referred to hereinafter generally as reclining chairs, utilize a mechanism to bias a leg rest assembly in extended and stowed positions and separate components to allow a back seat member to recline with respect to a seat base. The leg rest assembly is operably coupled to a drive mechanism to permit the seat occupant to selectively move the leg rest assembly between its normally retracted (i.e., stowed) and elevated (i.e., extended or protracted) positions.
Known furniture member mechanism designs can also permit the reclining chair to rock in a front-to-back motion with respect to an occupant or provide features that enhance the comfort of an occupant of the furniture member. One such comfort feature is occupant lumbar support. Occupant lumbar support is commonly provided by one or more cushion members that abut with or are connected to a horizontally configured flexible member. This member is commonly joined at its ends to vertically oriented backrest side support arms which are in turn rotatably connected to a furniture member chair frame. The lumbar support system thus created is typically non-adjustable.
Because lumbar support is substantially fixed to the back seat member, as the back seat member rotates the lumbar cushion(s) will commonly extend forwardly and upwardly. This creates a different lumbar support “feeling” for the different rotated positions of the seat back. Because common lumbar support systems are not adjustable by the occupant, they therefore can result in discomfort in either the fully reclined or upright positions, or in the leg rest extended position for different occupants.